Advancing and locking mechanism



(mt. & 19W M. G. LODER ADVANCING AND LOCKING MECHANISM Filed. June 9,,1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN V EN TOR.

ATTOP/VEV United States Patent F ADVANCING AND LOCKING MECHANISM MilfordG. Loder, Van Dyke, Mich. ApplicationJun'e 9; 1953, Serial No. 360,459

Claims. (Cl. 14-'--817) This invention relateslt'o mechanism whichincrement ally advances one member relative to another and locks andunlocks the members relativeto each other such as inlmacliine-tool'turrets and locks therefor and more par ticularlytomechanisrnincorporating novel, inventive,,and useful mechanical meansfor advancinga member to the next station and to noVeLinventive, and.useful mechani call means to. accurately locate and" lock andunlock themembers relative to each. other.

As an illustration of the application ofthe invention, the instantadvancing, and lockingrnechanism may, be. inr corporat'ed in memberssuch as tool-holding turrets. employed on turret lathes andthe likewhich holdla multiplicit'y of tools and' rotate. incrementally topresent the tools in. series relative to a workpiece. Tool holdiiigturrets are well known in the art and. they usually empla a ratchetmechanism to advance the turret to the next tool station by movement ofalever in one direction and'a lbc kingmechanism to secure the turret inthe advanced position operated by movement of'tlie lever in the oppositedirection. Some tool holdi ng, turrets also employ spring, pressed"detents to pre-locate the turret.

The devices of the prior. art, however-, hav'e not proven entirelysatisfactory inasmuch as they are complicated in. design andconstruction, expensive to manufacture, difficult to use, and inaccurateas to tool location in locked condition. Prior art devices. also areunsatisfacfory' because of the susceptibility of jamming or even actualBreakage of theadvancing and locking. mechanism in the hands of aninexperienced operator.

With the foregoing in view it is a primary object of this invention toprovide incrementally advancing, looking, and unlocking. mechanism whichis simple in design and construction, inexpensive to manufacture easy touse, fool-proof inoperation, accurately self-aligning, posi .tiveiii-locking, and positive in unlocking.

An. object of. the invention is to. provide a relatively large.diameter. stationary, neck or post about which. the head. or sleeve.turns so that the'head is'accurately supported thereby eliminatingwobbling and deformation under forces developed. inuse.-

An. objectof. the invention is to provide grooves in the head forcooperating. with the lockingv meansand the advancing means.-

An object of the invention is to provide aradialchannel in: the postto'receive a lock-bolt adapted to cooperate withthe head grooves.

Ari-object of the invention: is to provide an axialbore in the neck forreceiving: an operating shaft having, a cam"- thereon for advancing.thelock-bolt'into the head grooves- When-the shaft: is rotated in onedirection:

An' object of the invention. is to provide a two-part bo'ltelock. whichself-unlocks: when not subject to advancingiforce by the shaft cam orother means.

An. object of. the invention is to provide a radial. collar on" theshaft having a depressablespring. pressed dog adapted to engage: thehead grooves to turn the head H 2,854,861 Patented Oct. 7, 1958 2. tothenext station when the'shaft is rotated in onev di rection.

An object'of the invention is to provide" a flange'on the neck occupyingsufiicient' circumferential area to'precliide the dog operation exceptto advance the-head one station only was to thereby afford all but onestation area fo'rcam operation to effect locking.

An object of: the invention is to' provide a springpres'sed detent' inthe neck to' pre-locate the head after station advancement and to-holdthe head prior-to: lock it'tg:

An" object of the" invention is to provide a two-part lock-bolt adaptedto forcefully engage'not only the head but also the neckthereby'uniting'the head and neck" in the locked condition asif they wereintegral,thereby ac curat'ely'" holding the head: in fixed relation to the neck.

An object of the invention is to provide mutually' engagingwedgeorcani'faces'on the parts of the lock bolt whicli'transfer'radiallydirected force to the head thereby drivingtli'ebit'portfdnof thelockinto engagement with therheadi An o b ject'of th'e invention is toprovide mutually'eng'aging'we'dge or cam": face-son the parts of thelock bolt which transfer radially directed force tangentially so as todrivethe' side portions into engagement with the neck.

An objectof" the" invention is to provide a lock: bolt Wh'icli'ilocks intwo directions and whicliiunlock's'in' two directions.

These" and other" objects of the invention will become apparentby're'f'eren'ce' to the following description of in+ crement'ally"advancing; locking, and unlocking mecha ni s'rn such as a tool turretand tWOrP'aTt lock-bolt em- Bodyin'g'the invention taken in connectionwith the" ac= companying: drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal" cross-sectional view ofttie in. ventive devicetaken on the line 1"1 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is an end elevational view taken on the" line of'Fig. 1" with.the" cap removed showingthe shaft in cross se'ction:

Fig. 3" is a cross-sectional view, similar to Fig: 2, taken on the line3-3 of Fig. 1 showing the neck hold down bolts" in plan" and the lockparts. in dottedlines;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 taken on the line 44 of Fig. lshowing the lock parts in plan in locked condition;

Fig: 5' is, a view similar to Fig. 2 showing the shaft and collarpartially rotated so as to engage the dog with thel'lea'd groove;

Fig: dis a view similar to Fig: 5 with a collar and headmtated QO'degreesto Fig; 51

Fig; 7" is a view similar to Fig: 4 showing the Head rotated 45'dc'grees to-Figa 4 and showing the lockp'artsin unlocked condition;

Fig; 8E'is a" view similar to Figs. 4 and'7 showingtl'le head' rotated9tl degrees toFig. 4 and 45 degrees tO Flg'L 7' with: the detent inlocating relationship and the look parts" in unlocked condition.

Fig: 9 is an exploded facc'elevational view ofthe' twopart b'o'lt lockgand Fig. 10 is an: exploded side elevational view of the 15, a radialchamber which receives and houses the spring-pressed detent 16, a radialslot which receives and houses the cam-forced bolt 18, and the shaft 15is equipped with a cam portion 19 for driving the bolt 18 radiallyoutwardly of the neck 14.

The sleeve or head 20 is rotatably mounted around the neck 14 and isequipped with top and bottom plates or flanges 21 and 22, respectively,or similar items, for mounting and securing tools, not shown,therebetween as is well known in the art. A four-sided or stationed headis illustrated but it is obvious that as many sides or stations asdesired can be used and the station moving and locking mechanism adaptedthereto as hereinafter described. The head 29 has grooves 23 formedtherein parallel to the shaft 15 for receiving and cooperating with thedetent 16 and the bolt 18.

Rotation of the shaft 15 via the lever 24 and coupling 25 in a clockwisedirection as seen in the drawings rotates the cam 19 so as to drive thebolt 18 into a groove 23 thereby locking the head 20 relative to theneck 14. The shaft 15 carries the collar 26 keyed for rotation therewithby key 30, and the collar, in turn, carries the spring-pressed dog 27which is adapted to engage the head 20 at the side wall of the grooves23 so thatcounterclockwise rotation of the shaft 15 rotates the head 20.The neck 14 has a shroud flange 31 of approximately 270 degrees extentdisposed between the dog and the head and against which the top of thedog bears so as to preclude the dog's engagement with the head except inthe 90 degrees area where there is no flange so that the shaft and dogimpart only a quarter turn of 90 degrees to the head 20. As previouslymentioned, this movement is adapted to a four-sided or four-stationedturret but this may be adapted to any number of stations in a turretsuch as in a six station turret by enlarging the shroud flange 31circumferentially to approximately 300 degrees thereby leaving only 60degrees unobstructed movement area for the dog 27 to move the head 20.The cap 28 surmounts the head 20 and may be welded thereto as at 29 orfloatingly positioned thereon, as desired, and the shaft 15 is properlypositioned in the neck 14 via the coupling 25 and the spring washer 37seated in the counter bore 38 as secured by the Allen screw 39.

The bolt 18 is two-part in construction and comprises a head-engagingbit-portion 40 and a cam-engaging driveportion 41;'both portions 40 and41 are housed in a chamber in the neck 14 or similar body.

The bit portion 40 has a tang portion 42 for engaging a groove 23 in thehead 20, a side bearing portion 44 for engaging the side wall of theneck 14 housing chamber, two Wedge portions 46 and 48 and an adjacentside portion 54). The drive portion 41 has a cam riding or forcereceiving portion 43, a side bearing portion 45 for engaging the sidewall of the neck 14 housing chamber, two wedge portions 49 and 51 forengaging and coacting with the wedge portions 46 and 48 respectively ofthe bit portion 40, and an adjacent side portion 53. The wedge portions46, 48, 49, and 51 preferably have approximately a 40 degrees cam anglethereon which makes such cam angle approximately 50 degrees to a radiusof the neck 14 so that the cam faces readily disengage allowing the boltportions 40 and 41 to move toward one another upon the withdrawal offorce on the portion 43 thereby freeing the bolt portions fromfrictional engagement with the neck 14 and leaving them loose in theneck chamber so that they can be easily moved therein out of engagementwith the head 20.

Referring to Figs. 7 and 8 it is to be noted that when the shaft cam 19or other forcing means is disengaged with the portion 43 of the driveportion 41, the respective cooperating wedge portions 4649 and 4851 arenot activated so that the adjacent sides 50 and 53 are allowed to meetand the chamber wall engaging side portions 44 and 45 allowed to retractreducing the sidewise dimension of the lock bolt 18 to substantiallyless than the width of its receiving chamber in the neck 14 so that itis easily movable therein without resistance. Conversely, referring toFigs. 1 and 4, it is to be noted that when the shaft cam 19 or otherforcing means is drivingly engaged with the force receiving portion 43of the drive portion 41, the respective cooperating wedge portions 46-49and 4851 are activated so that the adjacent sides 50 and 53 are spreadapart and the side bearing portions 44 and 45 are urged into frictionalengagement so as to move the lock portions 40 and 41 sidewise apartenlarging or expanding the sidewise dimension of the lock bolt 18 so asto frictionally engage the side Walls of the neck 14 chamber therebypreventing any movement of the lock bolt relative to the neck 14. Therespective cooperating wedges 46--49 and 4851 coact to spread the lockbolt 18 in parallel relationship when force is applied to the forcereceiving portion 43 in conjunction with resistance applied to the tangportion 42 so that when force is applied it is transmitted not only tothe tang portion 42 engaging the head 20 groove 23 but also to thechamber side walls of the neck 14 thereby jamming and locking the bolt18 relative to both the head 20 and the neck 14 thereby forcefullyengaging both the head 20 and the neck 14 to completely prevent relativemovement therebetween. It is to be noted that the lock bolt loosens byitself when cam force is removed as the parallel relationship betweenthe parts prevents tipping or canting and the 40 degrees wedge portionstend to release rather than to engage.

Referring to the operation of the device, the neck post 14 is mounteddirectly on a machine via the bolts 12, or if the base 10 is also used,via the bolts 11 in the ears 13 as well, so as to provide anexceptionally stable mounting. Tools, not shown, are disposed betweenthe top and bottom flanges 21 and 22 respectively on the head 20 andclamped therein via set screws, not shown, threaded in the openings 63of the top flange 21 as is well known in the art. When the device is sopositioned and operating, the tool is used relative to the workpiecewhen the inventive device is locked up as indicated in Figs. 1 to 4. Toadvance the next tool carried by the head 20 for engagement with theworkpiece the head 20 is advanced to the next station by first unlockingthe head 20 relative to the neck 14 and then rotating the head 20relative to the neck 14 a quarter turn as illustrated in conjunctionwith a four station turret. Obviously, if the turret had eight stationsthe head would be advanced Ms turn as is well known in the art.

To unlock the head, the operator moves the lever 24, coupling 25, andshaft 15 in a counterclockwise direction as seen in the drawings therebyturning the cam portion 19 on the shaft 15 from the position seen inFigs. 1 to 4 to the positions seen in Figs. 5 to 8 thereby retractingthe cam 19 from the force receiving portion 43 of the lock bolt 18deactivating the lock bolt cooperating wedge portions 4649 and 4851thereby frictionally disengaging the lock bolt 18 from the neck chamberside walls as hereinbefore described and thereby leaving the tangportion 42 of the lock bolt 18 free to move out of engagement from theside walls of the groove 23 in the head 20.

Counterclockwise movement of the shaft 15 also rotates the collar 26 ina counterclockwise direction moving the dog 27 past the area of theflange shroud 31 where the spring pressed pin 36 rotates the dog 27 onits base disc 35 relative to its receiving socket in the collar 26 sothat the dog 27 bears against the head 20 and enters a groove 23 so asto engage a side wall thereof. As seen in Fig.5, furthercounterclockwise movement of the shaft 15 rotates the head from theposition seen in Fig. 5 to the position seen in Fig. 6 where rotationalmovement of the dog 27 is stopped by the flange shroud 31 leaving thehead in a position degrees removed as seen in Fig. 6. As the head movesfrom the position seen in Fig. 5 to that seen in Fig. 6, the head movesrelative to the lock parts through the intermediate position illustratedin Fig. 7 which movement causes the head to force the spring presseddetent 16 and the lock bolt tang 42 back into the area of the neck 14 soas to permit the head to rotate without interference from the lockparts, and, it is to be noted that the cam 19 low side is adjacent thelock bolt 18 thereby permitting its radially inward movement.

When the head 20 is thus moved to the next station, as seen in Fig. 8,the spring pressed detent 16 resets itself in a groove 23 of the headthereby pro-locating the head at the new station prior to locking. Theshaft 15 is then rotated in a clockwise direction so that the high sideof the cam 19 is brought into forceful engagement with the forcereceiving portion 43 of the lock bolt 18 initially moving the tangportion 42 into a groove 23 in the head 20 and then activating therespective cooperating lock bolt wedge portions 49-46 and 48--51 so thatthe lock bolt 48 frictionally engages both the head 20 and the neck 14.It is to be noted that the action between the cam 19 and the boltportion 43 is located in the area of the flange shroud 31 so that thisaction can be effected over a large angular movement of the shaft 15 andit will be further noted that the dog 27 cannot engage any head groove23 in the area of the flange shroud 31.

While the device has been illustrated as manually operable forsimplicity of description, it is obvious that the lever 24 can beactuated automatically or that a gear can supplant the coupling 25 andthe device operated automatically. It is also obvious that hydraulic,pneumatic, or electrical force can be applied against the lock bolt toactivate same within the limits of the invention.

Although but a single embodiment of the invention has been shown anddescribed in detail, it is obvious that many changes may be made in thesize, shape, detail and arrangement of the various elements of theinvention within the scope of the appended claims as the invention isnot limited to the illustrated embodiment but is applicable to manyother mechanisms. Furthermore, the two-part lock bolt disclosed hereinis not limited to the use illustrated, but may be used advantageously inany instance where it is desired to prevent relative movement betweenrelatively movable elements.

I claim:

1. An incrementally advancing, locking, and unlocking mechanismcomprising a stationary post having a lock bolt receiving radial chamberand an axial shaft receiving bore communicating with each other, a headrotatably surrounding said post having locking and advancing groovestherein, a bolt disposedin said post chamber adapted to entera groove ofsaid head to secure said head relative to said post against relativerotational movement therebetween, an operating shaft rotatably disposedin the axial bore of said post, a cam on said shaft adapted to drivesaid bolt radially outwardly of said post into locking engagement withsaid head, a collar carried by said shaft so as to rotate therewith, aspring pressed dog carried by said collar adapted to unidirectionallyengage said head to impart rotational movement to said head, and aflange shroud on said post in the area of said dog; said flange shroudin the area of said dog arcuately surrounding said dog relative to saidhead by an included angle preventing engagement between said dog andsaid head in the included angle area and permitting engagement betweensaid dog and said head in the remaining excluded angle area in thedirection of said dogs unidirectional engagement; said cam being adaptedto move said bolt outwardly to lock said head on movement of said shaftin the direction opposite to said dogs engagement direction and toretract said bolt on movement of said shaft in the direction of saiddogs engagement to unlock said head; said cam being adapted to unlocksaid bolt within the excluded area of said shroud to permit angularmovement of said head by said dog.

2. An incrementally advancing, locking, and unlocking mechanismcomprising a stationary post having a lock bolt receiving radial chamberand an axial shaft receiving bore communicating with each other, a headrotatably surrounding said post having locking and advancing groovestherein, a bolt disposed in said post chamber adapted to enter a grooveof said head to secure said head relative to said post against relativerotational movement therebetween, an operating shaft rotatably disposedin the axial bore of said post, a cam on said shaft adapted tounidirectionally drive said bolt radially outwardly of said post intolocking engagement with said head; said lock bolt comprising a bitportion for engaging said head and a drive portion for engaging saidcam, a wedge portion on said bit portion, a wedge portion on said driveportion engaging said bit wedge portion a wedge portion on said driveportion engaging said bit wedge portion so that force applied to saiddrive portion is radially transmitted via said wedge portions to saidbit portion so as to force said bit portion into engagement with saidhead and tangentially transmitted via said wedge portions to said driveand bit portions so as to force both said portions sidewise intoengagement with said post, a collar carried by said shaft so as torotate therewith, a spring pressed dog carried by said collar adapted tounidirectionally engage said head to impart rotational movement to saidhead, and a flange shroud on said post in the area of said dog; saidflange shroud in the area of said dog arcuately surrounding said dogrelative to said head by an included angle preventing engagement betweensaid dog and said head in the included angle area and permittingengagement between said dog and said head in the remaining excludedangle area in the direction of said dogs unidirectional engagement; saidcam being adapted to move said bolt outwardly to lock said head onmovement of said shaft in the direction opposite to said dogs engagementdirection and to retract said bolt on movement of said shaft in thedirection of said dogs engagement to unlock said head; said cam beingadapted to unlock said bolt within the excluded area of said shroud topermit angular movement of said head by said dog.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS496,001 Richards Apr. 25, 1893 517,168 Richards Mar. 27, 1894 1,083,193Courtney Dec. 30, 1913 1,425,007 Granlund Aug. 8, 1922 2,086,850 BullardJuly 13, 1937 2,413,900 Abbott Jan. 7, 1947 2,458,859 Kestell Jan. 11,1949 2,485,738 Jeschke 0ct. 25, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS 546,902 GreatBritain Aug. 5, 1942

